After the collapse and abandonment of Temple XIX in pre-Columbian times, the stairs slumped down the front of the pyramid toward the north (facing the camera in this view). Here, in August 1999, the process of restoring their original appearance is underway.

The consolidation and preservation work is well advanced in this view. The temporary roof will be removed to facilitate our operations.

The lower level of the Temple XIX substructure is 35 meters wide. There were originally sixteen stairs.

The upper level of the substructure is accessed by a central stairway, with ballustrades on either side.

While the upper northwest corner of the substructure was still unconsolidated, we found more fragments of the limestone tablet that had originally been installed on the building's central support pier. (See our report for the end of the 1999 season.)

Another feature pertaining to the exterior was this entrance, on the east side of the building, for the drain that passes under the superstructure. (See our 1999 report.)

As for the interior of Temple XIX , the collapse of the superstructure had converted it into a great mound. None of the roof remained in place. Here we see where some of the stones of the vault fell like an accordian.

In our third season, we discovered another bench or platform - this one unsculptured - to the right of the entrance.             Another view.

This view is at a later stage of excavation, looking down the north side of the building from the sculptured platform to the plain one (underneath the covering, just past the central doorway where Kirk Straight is standing). Note the holes in floor adjacent to sculptured platform.